Take a quick glimpse into the editing process with Room 48.2 Travellers‘ Lead Editor, Lena Belova, and get ready for the issue by listening to the a specially-curated vibes playlist.
Lena Belova: Choosing pieces for the issue, which were open to any theme (other than working with our contest-winning pieces), a theme developed right in front of me as I chose poems, short stories, and art pieces that played off of each other. Pieces which expressed all the multitudes of human life, of change and transformation, regret and longing, and how we exist in time. After selecting the pieces, next came my favourite step of working on any issue: the layout. Choosing how I want the issue to start and end, how I want the reader to be guided into the themes, how I want them to be left feeling on the last page, and the hills and valleys I want them to walk through in-between. Then, the finer details—like pairing one poem to another because they both reference a similar motif, or they contrast with each other a certain way. And of course, there is the balance—the breaths I want the reader to take, the pacing, not overwhelming with too much poetry or fiction in one part of the issue, or balancing writers’ styles and voices.
It’s all so similar to creating a playlist. Choosing the introductory song to set the mood, finding songs that compliment and contrast, finding connections not just through lyrics, but also through style, genre, and well, vibes. Below you’ll find a playlist I made to introduce you to the vibes of Issue 48.2, evoking the same feelings that came up for me in curating and reading Travellers.
Songs like “Phanta” and “Realiti” bring a touch of the timelessness theme, of the surreal realms that some pieces in the issue explore, with “Night Shift”, “Me-Jane,” and “Amazon” adding the trickster vibe that comes up, of unexpected changes and duality. “LES Artistes” expresses the feeling of trying to figure out oneself, while “There’s More to Life Than This” and “One Beat” evoke a feeling of joyous and rebellious yearning. “Just Twisted,” “Old Friend,” and “South Coast Plaza” touch on the themes of age and transformation, of long lives lived and the lessons learned, as well and regret and longing for places and people of a past which will always be a part of us.
No matter if it’s electronic, folk, or punk rock, each song is incredibly commanding. Some songs are wry, some playful, and some twisted, just like all the works featured in our issue.
